Creativity and Plastic Free July
You might think it a strange or even trivial thing for us to link creativity with sustainable living, but our WONDR community have been demonstrating how the two go hand in hand and exactly why creativity matters!
A decade of action
Sustainable living relies upon daily decisions and actions that have positive, rather than negative, effects on our local and global environments. As a global community, we’re passing several planetary boundaries and in the next 10 years, the Earth could suffer irrecoverable damage. To avoid this damage, we’re entering a decade of action — but what does this action look like?
To strive for a greener world, we need to address the limitations of our current actions and develop brand spanking new, alternative ways of life! Therefore, we’re literally saying, “out with the old (and harmful) actions and in with some new (and sustainable) life choices”! Before we can actually make this transition, we need to build up a whole bunch of alternative actions that not only replace, but also correct what’s gone on before. This is a process of development, a process that requires ‘innovation across the board, and creativity in all fields’ of work. (Source: Hans d’Orville, Fellow at the World Academy of Art & Science). Because the world’s ecological problems are caused by such an extensive list of factors, it can feel overwhelming and almost impossible to address every single one through our own daily routines. However, we can take this transition a step at a time, by working together to learn about and tackle individual issues.
Since it’s Plastic Free July, let’s take a look at how imagining and creating our very own plastic-free lifestyle might be the first step in this transition.
Why Plastic Free July? ♻️
By 2050, the plastic in our oceans will outweigh fish 🐟. Part of the reason is that plastic usage has increased 20-fold in the last 50 years, and it’s continuing to rise.(Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation and World Economic Forum)
Now, if you’re not one for wildlife, then this statistic might not bring you on board with the whole Plastic Free July thing. However, you might be surprised to hear that plastic has detrimental effects on human life too! The mass development of plastic has been accelerating climate change due to the amount of fossil fuels burnt throughout production. Climate change in turn causes many natural disasters that destroy livelihoods and cause climate migration. Though the consequences of our ever-growing plastic consumption are daunting and quite frankly, disastrous, it’s not the end … yet. This decade of action that we’ve entered into is innovative; it relies on people like you and I working together to develop alternative solutions that both protect our environment from further harm and mitigate the harm we’ve already caused.
You might find it reassuring to hear that this team effort has already begun — on a worldwide scale! Members of our WONDR community are taking preventative action by joining the global movement, Plastic Free July, and sharing all about their plastic-free alternatives! This global effort is just one example of individuals coming together to instigate collective action.
In recent weeks Asmara curated a project on WONDR called ‘Plastic Free July!’. Her project documents her plastic-free journey, beginning with research, resources, and learning about how one can live a plastic-free life, through to putting her lessons learnt into tangible practice. The curation of this project is an entirely innovative process. Not only that, but the resources that Asmara’s shared have been imagined and created to suggest actions that are new and alternative to what’s gone before.
A Step at a Time
Let’s be real here, it’s highly likely that some of our most favourite foods and drinks are packaged up in a whole heap of plastic. It’s a huge challenge to change our lifestyle overnight and it’s a huge sacrifice to just cut out some of our favourite goodies. The thing to remember is that we’re all a work in progress and we’re not going to get things perfect straight away. Asmara’s recently reflected on her first attempt at a plastic-free grocery run:
“Though I purchased A LOT less plastic-packaged products, there’s still room for improvement. For example, I did give into the hummus, pitta and a snack …Currently in the market for pittas wrapped in paper (or a great recipe for homemade pitas!) […] Open to suggestions for how to #bebetter 😁”
I don’t know about you, but I find Asmara’s honesty incredibly reassuring! Attempting to go plastic-free for an entire month is a great way to experiment with how this change might be put into practice. Through her project on WONDR, Asmara’s created a space to share her successes as well as her challenges. This is a great opportunity to recognise that bumps in the road do not negate our achievements (big or small). Asmara’s project has also created an opportunity for others to join, learn from, and help support her journey throughout Plastic Free July.
Creativity: A Generation of Revolution
One post shared to Asmara’s project is a resource designed by National Geographic Kids’ to help educate children about the negative effects of plastic. This resource itself has been created to provide children with lessons that might not be being taught in the classroom. Education builds our values and our understanding of the world around us. By creating new ways of understanding the relationship between plastic and climate change, National Geographic are equipping the next generation to live sustainably. Follow the link to check out Asmara’s resource: ‘Teach Kids about Plastic’
Rethinking Deliveries 📦
Another inspiring post shared via Asmara’s project is all about her purchase of a new Fitbit strap. You might be thinking that this post was all about the plastic within the product, but you’d be wrong. Rather than drawing our attention to the product itself, Asmara shone a spotlight on how our deliveries get to us! Asmara highlighted how she’s chosen to buy her new Fitbit strap from Etsy over Amazon, because, unlike Amazon, Etsy carbon offset all of their deliveries. By striving to limit herself to in-country sellers, Asmara also reveals the power we can have in mitigating the logistics footprint of our online orders. With Etsy, Asmara’s agency didn’t end with delivery options but extended to deciding how her purchase was packaged! Since you often have direct contact with sellers on Etsy, you can also ask them to minimise the plastic used in packaging your item(s). To consider the detrimental factors outside of the product itself, is to think outside the box and to think outside the box, is to approach our purchases with a more creative and imaginative thought-process. Read more at ‘Fitbit Swap’!
But what if I’m not creative? 🎨
I’m not an artist. I’m hopeless at drawing and painting and dancing and writing stories. But, I am still creative. I’m still creative because creativity isn’t limited to producing great works of art. Creativity is the use of our imagination to produce new, original ideas. These ideas determine our actions. These ideas are needed for us to take revolutionary, collaborative action against the ecological and social problems that we’ve caused!
Resources for to get started:
- Asmara’s project on WONDR: Plastic Free July!
- Sarah’s WONDR project: How to a Plastic Free Food Shop
- Resources from the official Plastic Free July movement
- The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) blog on Plastic and Climate Change
Feel free to share your feedback and ask any questions with Sam — sam@mywondr.co and Bethany — bethany.haskins@mywondr.co
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